Article of footwear



Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR Ernst J. Story, Cincinnati, Ohio Application April 24, 1942, Serial No. 440,362

(eras-3a) 8' Claims.

This invention relates to an article of footwear, and especially to that type of footwear which may be constructed with board-like'sole material, rather than flexible sole material'such as leather.

An object of the invention is to provide in an article of footwear of the character stated, an improved hinge means between a front section and a rear section of ,the sole, which is selfcleaning and thereby kept, in an operative condition without requiring any special attention on the part of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is toprovide an article of footwear having inflexible sole sections joined together with a hinge of which the constituent parts are so related to the sole sections as to prevent binding and stiffening of the joint and resultant discomfort to the wearer.

- A further object of the invention is to provide an article of footwear of the class described, which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture,

yet highly durable and serviceable as well as comfortable upon the wearer's foot.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the article of footwear, showing the front and rear sections separated in the interest of clarity of disclosure. Fig. 2 is a fragmental side elevational view of the device of Fig. 1, showing the front and rear sections hingedly connected, the View being on a slightly enlarged scale.

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmental side elevational views showing in detail the hinge means aforesaid.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental side'elevational view of a modification.

Fig. dis a similar view showing-a second modification.

Prior to the present invention, various types of sandals were known to embody front 'and rear sole sections connected together by means of hinges for the purpose of conformity between the movements of the foot and of the sandal in walking, but in all known prior structures there was encountered the difficulty of excluding dirt, sand and other foreign particles from the hinge connections, so that the hinge connections soon became inoperative due to the compacting of such foreign material between the movable sections. The result of such compacting of'foreign material within the joint between the front and rear sole sections, was to eventually so limit the hinging movements as to render the sole of? sections practically immovable relative'to' one another, and as a consequence, the shoe'or sandal in a short period of time was little better than one constructed without a hinge connection. As is obvious, a shoe or sandal that will not flex in conformity with the movements of the foot in walking, is uncomfortable and renders walking difficult and awkward.

One of the objects of the present invention is that of providing an article of" footwear with relatively inflexible front and rear sole sections joined together with a hinge that is so constructed as to be self-cleaning, that is, the hinge means includes structure operative to clear the hinge of foreign materials and to eject such foreign materials before they may be compacted within thehinge joint. The particular hinge'structure disclosed herein is designed to accomplish this objective with the use of means having the advantages of simplicity and'low' manufacturing costs. A detailed description of the improved article of footwear is given below.

' With reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawing, the characters l2 and I3 indicate, respectively, the rear sole section and the front sole section of the article of footwear. The rear sole section has an upper surface M providing a heel supporting area I 5 and is shaped similarly to the sole of any conventional shoe.

1, The lower surface It of the section may be arched, and may carry a conventional heel I! of wood, rubber or othei-acceptable material. Bothv of the sections [2 and [3 preferably are made of a substantial inflexible board material such as wood, pressed board, or the like. In fact, the use of any suitable material in the sections of the article of footwear need not be limited, so long as the material is substantially -inflexible and capable of being shaped or formed to present the necessary elements to'be described hereinafter. To aid in a proper understanding of the invention, it may be assumed that the sole sections are of wood, sawed or pressed to impart aproper configuration thereto.

The particular form of means disclosed herein as straps I8 and IQ for holding the article of footwear upon the wearers foo-t is=of no particular importance tothe invention wherefore it is understood that such means may be varied to suit the demandsof the dealer or wearer.

In that form of the invention disclosed by Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the rear section l2 includes a forward edge 20 tooled out to form a channel or groove 2| which is of approximate half-cylinder formation said groove being interrupted at equal distances from the sides 22 and 23 of the section, by a longitudinal hinge barrel 24 which may be formed integral with the material constituting section I2. The hinge barrel is cylindrical, and is bored longitudinally as indicated at 25. The axis of the bore rests midway between the upper and lower shearing edges 26 and 2! that bound the grooves at opposite ends sides of sole section I3, the rear edge: portion 32."

of the front sole section is grooved in themanner indicated at 2I, to accommodate the cylindrical outer surface of the hinge barrel 24 carried by the: rear sole section. The hinge barrels. 30- and 3! are bored lengthwise, as indicated. at 33' and 34 to: receive a. hinge pin 35. In that. form of the. invention illustrated by Figs, 1, 2 and 3, the. hingebarrels. are. integral with the; front sole section.

When the front and rear sole: sections are; joined by the hinge pin as indicated in. Fig. 2', each hinge barrel is accommodated by an opposed channel. 'I'he'drawings illustrate a structure embodying a minimum number of binge barrels that operate in a satisfactory manner to hinge the parts together", however, it should readily be understood that the number of hinge barrels may be increased if desired. Referring now to-Figs. 3 and 4, which shows: the hinge structure of the front and rear sections in detail, it should be observed that theedge 26 that bounds the channel 2I at the upper surface; of the sole section, is shaped in the mamrer of: a chisel, with the beveled surface 36 inclined downwardly and outwardly of the upper surface I4. Similarly, the tapered surface 31 of the edge 28 is inclined downwardly and outwardly of the uppersurface of sole section t3. These cooperative tapered areas normally assume the position indicated by Fig. 2, wherein they are spaced apart when the space at 38 is at its minimum, that is, when the sole sections are in a normally substantially aligned condition. Upon moving the front section l3 upwardly about its pivot 35, the chisel edges 26 and 28 will approach each other along the full length of the sections, to the limit established by the normal distance between them. The space 38 thereupon will be widened, leaving the chisel edges 21 and 29 (Fig. 4) separated. When therefore the front solesection I3 is'moved downwardly to the Fig. 2 position, the chisel edges 21' and 29 will close upon each other, and their tapered surfaces 38 and 39 will act as wedges for ejecting from the joint any-dirt or other'materialwhich might be compacted atthe. groove 38 @Fig. 2) in the absence. of such wedging and ejecting means. It will accordingly be understood that the hinge joint may properly be considered a selfcleaning joint, Thus the relatively sharp edges 21 and 29 scrape the foreign .matter from the hinge barrels upon which they rest, while the tapered surfaces .38 and 39 cooperate as wedges to eject'the foreign matter bodily from the joint rather than permit it to become compacted therein. The same character of action takes place between. the noncompacting shearing edges 26 and 28 near the upper surfaces of the front and rear solesections, so that this area or portion of the hinge means is likewise rendered self-cleaning. .It may here ment.

be stated that the reference character 40 in each of Figs. 2 and 4, indicates the part cylindrical groove between the hinge barrels 30 and 3|, this groove being adapted to nicely accommodate the cylindrical outer surface of the hinge barrel 24 of sole section I2.

As is evident from an examination of Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the scraping edge 26 is somewhat less than distant from the scraping edge 27, and the scraping edge 28. is less than 180 distant from the edge 29, in order that the sole sectionsmay hinge relative to one another. In Fig. 2, the edges 21 and 29 are in substantial line abutment, thereby limiting the clockwise movement of front section I3 relative to rear section I2. This leaves the upper shearing edges separated, the distance between them determining the extent to which the section i3: may be rotated in counterclockwise direction relative to section I2. From the foregoing explanation, it should readily be appreciatedv why the upper and lower chisel edges of a section should: not be: disposed atopposite ends of a; diameter of the adjacent hinge barrel, if the front and rear sections are: to have hinging move- Upon each hinging movement, the cooperative beveled chi-sel portions on the sections will scrape the hinge barrels, and will pinch off and ejectany foreign matter outwardly of the hingeioint, without any tendency to compact such foreign matter into the joint. As stated previously herein, the hinge pin should be located midway between the chisel edges of the sections.

In the modified, form of the invention illustrated by Fig, 5, the rear sole. section H2 is grooved as at I2I- uninterruptedly across the sole section, and the remaining edges are beveled as at I36 and I38? to provide. the; sharp scraping edges I26 and I2'I- corresponding to the illustration and explanation of 3. Fig. 5 distinguishes from Fig. 3, in; that the hinge barrel I24 is made separate from the rear sole section, rather than integral therewith, and is secured within the middle region of the groove with the use of suitable fastening devices, such as nails or brads 4-I', either with or without the aid of an adhesive applied to the groove I2I where the hinge barrel I24 is to seat. The separate. hinge barrel I24 is toassume the same relationship to the groove and to the bounding chisen edges, as is illustrated by Fig. 1. In resorting to: this type of construction, the front sole section may be similarly equipped with separate hinge barrels, in the same manner as is suggested by Fig. 5.

In the second modification of Fig. 6, which corresponds with Fig. 4 in that it represents the front sole section, the front sole section H3 has its hinge. barrels I30 of approximately the same diameter as the thickness of the sole section, so; that the scraping edges indicated at I28 and I29 are'quite sharp and thin and are without. the bevels such as are'indicated' at 31 and 39 ofFig..- i. The dotted; line I 48 indicates the groovev between the spaced hinge barrels, which are to. be related as in Fig. l, at 30- and SI. As will be understood, the rear sole section as well as the front sole section N3 of Fig. 6, would be correspondingly grooved and barreled in the manner suggested by Fig. 1, to present. a hinge connection. with scraping edges for dislodging" foreign- .matter tending to enter the hinge joint. The-step-indicatedfat 42 of Figs. 1,2 and 3 may be incorporated in the structure, if desired,

to reinforce the structure at the hinge, adding to its durability by assuming. the weight of the.

wearer's body while the front sole section .in

contact with a walking surface, thereby relieving the hinge structure of such weight and the strain accompanying same. The character 423 indicates a pad in the nature of an insole, that may cover the entire upper surface of both sole sections in the finished condition of the article, it being understood that such pad or sheet 43 will be flexible so as not to interfere with the hinging movements of the front and rear sections.

The hinge pin may be of a single piece, or of two pieces each inserted inwardly from the outer sides of the hinge barrels, and by preference said hinge pin is made slightly shorter than the width of the front sole section at the hinge barrels 30 and 3|, so that the ends of the hinge pin might be puttied in at the outer ends of the bores to preclude accidental displacement of the hinge pin. As stated previously herein the form of the holding means l8 and I9 which perform to keep the article against the wearers foot is a matter wholly immaterial to the present invention. In some forms of the device, the strap l8 might be replaced by a counter, if desired.

Various other modifications and changes may be made in the structural details of the device, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of footwear which. comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support, and a substantially inflexible front section to support the forward end of the human foot, each of said sections having upper and lower surfaces each terminating in a straight transverse hinge edge extending continuously across the front and rear sections, and hinge means joining said sections at said edges, said hinge means including a plurality of interfitting hinge barrels and a connecting hinge pin extending through the barrels in substantial parallelism with said hinge edges. with the axis of the pin equally distant from the upper and lower surfaces of the front and rear sections.

2. An article of footwear which comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support, and a substantially inflexible front section to support the forward end of the human foot, each of said sections having upper and lower surfaces each terminating in a straight transverse hinge edge extending continuously across the front and rear sections, and hinge means joining said sections at said edges, said hinge means including a plurality of interfitting hinge barrels and a connecting hinge pin extending through the barrels in substantial parallelism with said hinge edges, and means operative to clear the hinge means of foreign matter upon relative hinging movement of the front and rear sections.

3. An article of footwear which comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support, and a substantially inflexible front section to support the forward end of the human foot, each of said sections having upper and lower surfaces and a substantially straight transverse hinge edge, and hinge means joining said sections at said edges, said hinge means including a plurality of interfitting hinge barrels and a connecting hinge pin extending through the barrels in substantial parallelism with said hinge edges, and a pair of straight shearing edges extending continuously across each of said sections at their edge, and a substantially upper and lower surfaces and arranged to cooperate during hinging movements of the sec tions, to dislodge foreign matter at the hinge means and prevent compacting of such foreign matter between the sections.

4. An article of footwear which comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support, and a substantially inflexible front section to support the forward end of the human foot, each of said sections having upper and lower surfaces and a substantially straight transverse hinge edge, and hinge means joining said sections at said edges, said hinge means including a plurality of interfitting hinge barrels and a connecting hinge pin extending through the barrels in substantial parallelism with said hinge edges, and cooperative beveled chisel edges on the sections located to scrape the hinge barrels and to squeeze foreign matter outwardly of the joint provided by the hinge without compacting the foreign matter into the joint.

5. An article of footwear which comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support and a forward inflexible front section having a rear edge, said edges of the sections each being grooved longitudinally and continuously from one side of a section to the other side thereof, and bored cylindrical hinge barrels fixed in the grooves in staggered relationship, with the bores of the hinge barrels disposed in alignment for reception of a hinge pin when the barrels of the sections are interfitted to provide a hinge, a hinge barrel of one section being projected between the hinge barrels of the other section and into the groove of said other section, said groove being complementarily curved to fit the cylindrical form of th hinge barrel of said one section.

6. An article of footwear which comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support and a forward edge, and a substantially inflexible front section having a rear edge, said edges of the sections each being grooved longitudinally and continuously from one side of a section to the other side thereof, and bored cylindrical hinge barrels fixed in the grooves in staggered relationship, with the bores of the hinge barrels disposed in alignment for reception of a hinge pin when the barrels of the sections are interfitted to provide a hinge, the hinge barrels of one section being projected into the groove of the other section, said groove being complementarily curved to fit the cylindrical form of the hinge barrels of said one section, and shearing edges on the sections defining the grooves, said shearing edges being tapered to scrape an opposing hinge barrel and to cooperate with a similarly tapered shearing edge on the opposite section to squeeze out and dislodge from the hinge assembly any foreign matter tending to compact therein.

'7. An article of footwear which comprises in combination, a substantially inflexible rear section including a heel support and a forward edge, and a substantially inflexible front section having a rear edge, said edges of the sections being straight and coextensive with the width of each section, one of said sections being grooved along its edge and flanked by a pair of bored aligned hinge barrels integral with said one section, the radii of the grooves and aligned barrels having. a common center line parallel to the section edge, the other section including a bored integral hinge barrel flanked at its ends by grooves receptive of hinge barrels of said one section while the; mom center line parallel to the. section; edge; the

' other the hinge barrel of said other section seats Within section including a bored integral hinge means extended. through the barrel bores to comof the hinge barrels-of saidv one. section while the plete the hinge assembly; 5 hinge barrel of said other section seats within 3. An article of footwear which comprises, in the groove ofsaid one section, and; hinge pin combination, a substantially inflexible rear secmeans extended through the barrel bores to comtion including a heel support and a for ward edge,v plete the hinge assembly, said section edges in and a substantially inflexible front section havthe region of the hinge barrels and grooves bemg ing a rear edge, said edges of the sections be- 10 relatively sharp and arranged to meet with a ing coextensive With the width of each section pinching action to bodily eject foreign matter and flanked by a pair of bored aligned hinge tively about the hingepin means. barrels integral with said one section, the.- radii of the grooves and aligned; barrels having a com- 15 ERNST J. STORY. 

